Ceramic insulator cone under phono stage shocker!
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Ok, newbie here, at least in this arena. I am currently stacking my two amps, preamp, CD player and Bluesound Node two on top of each other. I know there is no one perfect answer, but... Do I need to have a rack first with maple shelves? Can I just insert pen blanks between the components? What about #10 stoppers or ceramic cones? Help!!!! |
I just picked up a set of three small DH cones for $35 (including shipping) that I plan to place under my phono stage. I also bough DH squares to place the cones on as recommended by GS. I may A/B compare them against some BDR carbon cones and discs that are currently under my BDR Source shelf supporting my TT. Experimenting is good times ;-) |
As fate would have it brass is on the softer end 3-4 of the Mohs Hardness Scale 0-10 and for that reason I’m out. Best results in terms of naturalness, openness and dynamics will almost always be obtained with very hard materials like diamond, tungsten, heat tempered steel and NASA grade ceramics (DH Cones), next hardest material to diamond. Even the Small size DH Cones which are actually quite cost effective, clobber most other cones. I used to buy them by sheet! I don’t do this for my health, you know. Of course, there will be an exception or two that proves the rule. Hey, that rhymes! 🤗 Everything is relative. A. Einstein 😛 |
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Elizabeth My rack is home made using 2 inch Butcher Blocks at 24x18 for each shelf. The 4 legs are stainless all thread with stainless nuts/washers at top/ bottom of each block. So infinitely adjustable for depth and level precisely. So all mods to my equipment work on top of butcher blocks. Likewise the effect cannot be separated except at speakers. Everything sits on a tiled solid concrete floor which I think helps any boom,or resonance issues to start with. My TT sits in a 40lb slab of solid birch and curly maple. Would love to make one from Cocobolo but holy moly the cost! Looked at Gaboon Ebony and Katalox blanks too but also spendy. |
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Wood you believe I’m using something quite similar for the base of my new tiny little bowl acoustic resonators. I use crystal for the catalyst. I have a fondness for Gabon ebony, rosewood, walnut and maple. There is a fine line between resonance control and tuning. Geoff Kait machina dynamica vibration isolation & resonance control |
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Elizabeth Thank you so much for the woodworking lessons! Seems I know not much about wood at all. The links to the two sites are extremely useful. Cocobolo is very well regarded by aftermarket turntable plinth manufacturers I know and now I see why quite so pricey. However compared to some of the money I have wasted in the past a couple dozen pen blanks is not going to break the bank. |
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Cones can be unstable for certain things like very tall heavy speakers. I once grabbed a 7 ft. tall narrow Golden Sound speaker just before it went crashing through the window at CES in 2005 after someone accidentally nudged it whilst it was on cones. The solution is to place a 18x18 inch board under the speakers and the cones under the board, thus stabilizing the set up. |
Anyways GK, based on memory of your unexplained removed post. I truly like the idea of losing the rack entirely and if had say just one source would seriously consider it. But with all my gear there would be no floor left in my room! And then the rats nest of cables would be on show for the world to see and cats to chew! So isolation under components in the rack is the best I can shoot for. Yes I can see the potential pitfalls of putting the complete rack on springs, especially mine which is a 5 shelf high unit, teeter, totter whoops! Food for thought indeed. |
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The last thing I won was a full-expense paid trip for two to Austin, after my ticket stub at a Junior Brown show at The Lava Lounge in L.A. was pulled out of the lottery hat. Air fare, two nights at the historic Driskill Hotel in Downtown Austin (there’s a tribute to Asleep At The Wheel in the lobby), a rental car, and per diem for food & drink. Also in line at the show was Stephen Stills, who did a double-take when he saw me (at the time I looked an awful lot like Buffalo Springfield-era Neil Young. I occasionally got asked for his autograph ;-). Anyway, I’ve been intending to try the Machina Dynamica New Dark Matter, but as it wasn’t one of the offered choices, I’ll try the Flying Saucers For Windows. Geoff, send ’em to the same place you sent me both your Spring models. By the way, fellers, you really should try the MD Springs yourself. The Best Buy in Hi-Fi isolation! |
FWIW, under my phono stage (a Herron VTPH-2) I use and have been pleased with an Adona Multi-Element Platform, with attached cones that point downward. I installed it at the same time as the phono stage, though, so I can't comment on how much of a difference it is making, or on how it may compare to something else. In the 12 x 18 inch size I required it cost about $260 plus shipping. The craftsmanship that went into it, btw, in the cherry trimmed configuration I ordered, is something to behold. My wife, who is something of an artist among other things, commented that it is truly an "objet d'art." Regards, -- Al |
